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Ramírez de Arellano E, Saavedra-Lozano J, Villalón P, Jové-Blanco A, Grandioso D, Sotelo J, Gamell A, González-López JJ, Cervantes E, Gónzalez MJ, Rello-Saltor V, Esteva C, Sanz-Santaeufemia F, Yagüe G, Manzanares Á, Brañas P, Ruiz de Gopegui E, Carrasco-Colom J, García F, Cercenado E, Mellado I, Del Castillo E, Pérez-Vazquez M, Oteo-Iglesias J, Calvo C. Clinical, microbiological, and molecular characterization of pediatric invasive infections by Streptococcus pyogenes in Spain in a context of global outbreak. mSphere 2024; 9:e0072923. [PMID: 38440985 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00729-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
In December 2022, an alert was published in the UK and other European countries reporting an unusual increase in the incidence of Streptococcus pyogenes infections. Our aim was to describe the clinical, microbiological, and molecular characteristics of group A Streptococcus invasive infections (iGAS) in children prospectively recruited in Spain (September 2022-March 2023), and compare invasive strains with strains causing mild infections. One hundred thirty isolates of S. pyogenes causing infection (102 iGAS and 28 mild infections) were included in the microbiological study: emm typing, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and sequencing for core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST), resistome, and virulome analysis. Clinical data were available from 93 cases and 21 controls. Pneumonia was the most frequent clinical syndrome (41/93; 44.1%), followed by deep tissue abscesses (23/93; 24.7%), and osteoarticular infections (11/93; 11.8%). Forty-six of 93 cases (49.5%) required admission to the pediatric intensive care unit. iGAS isolates mainly belonged to emm1 and emm12; emm12 predominated in 2022 but was surpassed by emm1 in 2023. Spread of M1UK sublineage (28/64 M1 isolates) was communicated for the first time in Spain, but it did not replace the still predominant sublineage M1global (36/64). Furthermore, a difference in emm types compared with the mild cases was observed with predominance of emm1, but also important representativeness of emm12 and emm89 isolates. Pneumonia, the most frequent and severe iGAS diagnosed, was associated with the speA gene, while the ssa superantigen was associated with milder cases. iGAS isolates were mainly susceptible to antimicrobials. cgMLST showed five major clusters: ST28-ST1357/emm1, ST36-ST425/emm12, ST242/emm12.37, ST39/emm4, and ST101-ST1295/emm89 isolates. IMPORTANCE Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a common bacterial pathogen in the pediatric population. In the last months of 2022, an unusual increase in GAS infections was detected in various countries. Certain strains were overrepresented, although the cause of this raise is not clear. In Spain, a significant increase in mild and severe cases was also observed; this study evaluates the clinical characteristics and the strains involved in both scenarios. Our study showed that the increase in incidence did not correlate with an increase in resistance or with an emm types shift. However, there seemed to be a rise in severity, partly related to a greater rate of pneumonia cases. These findings suggest a general increase in iGAS that highlights the need for surveillance. The introduction of whole genome sequencing in the diagnosis and surveillance of iGAS may improve the understanding of antibiotic resistance, virulence, and clones, facilitating its control and personalized treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Ramírez de Arellano
- Laboratorio de Referencia e Investigación en Resistencia a Antibióticos e Infecciones Relacionadas con la Asistencia Sanitaria, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC). Instituto Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jesús Saavedra-Lozano
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC). Instituto Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Servicio de Pediatría, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón. Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pilar Villalón
- Laboratorio de Referencia e Investigación en Taxonomía, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ana Jové-Blanco
- Servicio de Pediatría, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón. Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| | - David Grandioso
- Servicio de Microbiología, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jared Sotelo
- Laboratorio de Referencia e Investigación en Resistencia a Antibióticos e Infecciones Relacionadas con la Asistencia Sanitaria, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC). Instituto Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Anna Gamell
- Servicio de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Hospital San Joan de Déu, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Juan José González-López
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC). Instituto Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Servicio de Microbiología, Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Eloísa Cervantes
- Servicio de Pediatría, Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain
| | | | | | - Cristina Esteva
- Servicio de Microbiología, Hospital San Joan de Dèu, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Genoveva Yagüe
- Servicio de Microbiología, Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain
| | | | - Patricia Brañas
- Servicio de Microbiología, Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain
| | - Enrique Ruiz de Gopegui
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC). Instituto Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Servicio de Microbiología, Hospital Universitario Son Espases, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Illes Balears (IdiSBA), Palma, Spain
| | | | - Federico García
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC). Instituto Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Servicio de Microbiología, Hospital San Cecilio, Instituto de Investigación IbS.GRANADA, Granada, Spain
| | - Emilia Cercenado
- Servicio de Microbiología Clínica y Enfermedades Infecciosas, Hospital Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
- CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES). Instituto Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Isabel Mellado
- Servicio de Pediatría y Enfermedades Infecciosas, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Fundación IdiPaz Madrid, Spain. Red de Investigación Traslación en Infectología Pediátrica (RITIP), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Elena Del Castillo
- Servicio de Pediatría. Hospital Materno Infantil de Badajoz, Badajoz, Spain
| | - María Pérez-Vazquez
- Laboratorio de Referencia e Investigación en Resistencia a Antibióticos e Infecciones Relacionadas con la Asistencia Sanitaria, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC). Instituto Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jesús Oteo-Iglesias
- Laboratorio de Referencia e Investigación en Resistencia a Antibióticos e Infecciones Relacionadas con la Asistencia Sanitaria, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC). Instituto Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Cristina Calvo
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC). Instituto Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Servicio de Pediatría y Enfermedades Infecciosas, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Fundación IdiPaz Madrid, Spain. Red de Investigación Traslación en Infectología Pediátrica (RITIP), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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Kızılyıldırım S, Köksal F, Güneri CÖ. Distribution of emm, superantigen and other virulence genotypes and detection of phylogenetic relationships in group A streptococcal isolates. Acta Microbiol Immunol Hung 2022; 69:290-296. [PMID: 36370368 DOI: 10.1556/030.2022.01740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Group A streptococci are important pathogens with various virulence factors, such as M protein, superantigens, hemolysins, deoxyribonuclease, and proteases. The aims of this study are to investigate the detection of emm genotypes and other virulence genes, such as SAgs, DNase, protease, antibiotic resistance, and phylogenetic relationships in GAS strains isolated from clinical samples.Test strains were obtained from Çukurova University Balcalı Hospital and regional hospitals in Adana province. The M proteins were detected by sequence analysis of emm genes. SAgs and other virulence gene profiles were determined using the Multiplex-PCR method. The antibiotic susceptibility of the isolates was performed by the disc diffusion method and evaluated according to CLSI criteria. The PFGE method was used to determine the clonal relationship between the strains.The emm gene was positive in 86 isolates. The most common emm genotypes were emm28 (22%), emm1 (18.6%), emm12 (13.9%), and emm3 (11.6%). Also, the most common virulence genes were speG (58.1%), speC (56.9%), sdaB (53.4%), and mac (53.4%). The rates of resistance to erythromycin, clindamycin, levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin and telithromycin were 19.8%, 16.3%, 4.7%, 3.5%, and 3.5%, respectively.As a result, additional regional studies on the detection and prevalence of GAS virulence factors in Turkey are required. We believe that this study will provide valuable information for epidemiological studies on emm sequences, Sags, and other virulence factors of Streptococcus pyogenes in Turkey.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suna Kızılyıldırım
- 1Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Süleyman Demirel, 32260, Isparta, Turkey
| | - Fatih Köksal
- 2Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medical, University of Çukurova, 01380, Adana, Turkey
| | - Cansu Önlen Güneri
- 3Department of Medical Microbiology, Gulhane Vocational School of Health Services, University of Sağlık Bilimleri, 06010, Ankara, Turkey
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Gomes A, Bessa LJ, Fernandes I, Aguiar L, Ferraz R, Monteiro C, Martins MCL, Mateus N, Gameiro P, Teixeira C, Gomes P. Boosting Cosmeceutical Peptides: Coupling Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids to Pentapeptide-4 Originates New Leads with Antimicrobial and Collagenesis-Inducing Activities. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0229121. [PMID: 35950860 PMCID: PMC9431032 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02291-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Following our previous reports on dual-action antibacterial and collagenesis-inducing hybrid peptide constructs based on "pentapeptide-4" (PP4, with amino acid sequence KTTKS), whose N-palmitoyl derivative is the well-known cosmeceutical ingredient Matrixyl, herein we disclose novel ionic liquid/PP4 conjugates (IL-KTTKS). These conjugates present potent activity against either antibiotic-susceptible strains or multidrug resistant clinical isolates of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial species belonging to the so-called "ESKAPE" group of pathogens. Noteworthy, their antibacterial activity is preserved in simulated wound fluid, which anticipates an effective action in the setting of a real wound bed. Moreover, their collagenesis-inducing effects in vitro are comparable to or stronger than those of Matrixyl. Altogether, IL-KTTKS exert a triple antibacterial, antifungal, and collagenesis-inducing action in vitro. These findings provide solid grounds for us to advance IL-KTTKS conjugates as promising leads for future development of topical treatments for complicated skin and soft tissue infections (cSSTI). Further studies are envisaged to incorporate IL-conjugates into suitable nanoformulations, to reduce toxicity and/or improve resistance to proteolytic degradation. IMPORTANCE As life expectancy increases, diseases causing chronic wound infections become more prevalent. Diabetes, peripheral vascular diseases, and bedridden patients are often associated with non-healing wounds that become infected, resulting in high morbidity and mortality. This is exacerbated by the fact that microbes are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, so efforts must converge toward finding efficient therapeutic alternatives. Recently, our team identified a new type of constructs that combine (i) peptides used in cosmetics to promote collagen formation with (ii) imidazolium-based ionic liquids, which have antimicrobial and skin penetration properties. These constructs have potent wide-spectrum antimicrobial action, including against multidrug-resistant Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and fungi. Moreover, they can boost collagen formation. Hence, this is an unprecedented class of lead molecules toward development of a new topical medicine for chronically infected wounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Gomes
- LAQV-REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Lucinda J. Bessa
- LAQV-REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar Egas Moniz (CiiEM), Egas Moniz - Cooperativa de Ensino Superior, Almada, Portugal
| | - Iva Fernandes
- LAQV-REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Luísa Aguiar
- LAQV-REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Ricardo Ferraz
- LAQV-REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Ciências Químicas e das Biomoléculas – CISA, Escola Superior de Saúde, Politécnico do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Cláudia Monteiro
- i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- INEB - Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Porto, Portugal
| | - M. Cristina L. Martins
- i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- INEB - Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Porto, Portugal
- ICBAS, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Nuno Mateus
- LAQV-REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Paula Gameiro
- LAQV-REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Cátia Teixeira
- LAQV-REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Paula Gomes
- LAQV-REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
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Annotated Whole-Genome Multilocus Sequence Typing Schema for Scalable High-Resolution Typing of Streptococcus pyogenes. J Clin Microbiol 2022; 60:e0031522. [DOI: 10.1128/jcm.00315-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Streptococcus pyogenes
is a major human pathogen with high genetic diversity, largely created by recombination and horizontal gene transfer, making it difficult to use single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based genome-wide analyses for surveillance. Using a gene-by-gene approach on 208 complete genomes of
S. pyogenes
, a novel whole-genome multilocus sequence typing (wgMLST) schema was developed, comprising 3,044 target loci.
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Rafei R, Al Iaali R, Osman M, Dabboussi F, Hamze M. A global snapshot on the prevalent macrolide-resistant emm types of Group A Streptococcus worldwide, their phenotypes and their resistance marker genotypes during the last two decades: A systematic review. INFECTION, GENETICS AND EVOLUTION : JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY GENETICS IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES 2022; 99:105258. [PMID: 35219865 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2022.105258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2021] [Revised: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Watchful epidemiological surveillance of macrolide-resistant Group A Streptococcus (MRGAS) clones is important owing to the evolutionary and epidemiological dynamic of GAS. Meanwhile, data on the global distribution of MRGAS emm types according to macrolide resistance phenotypes and genotypes are scant and need to be updated. For this, the present systematic review analyses a global set of extensively characterized MRGAS isolates from patients of diverse ages and clinical presentations over approximately two decades (2000 to 2020) and recaps the peculiar epidemiological features of the dominant MRGAS clones. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 53 articles (3593 macrolide-resistant and 15,951 susceptible isolates) distributed over 23 countries were dissected with a predominance of high-income countries over low-income ones. Although macrolide resistance in GAS is highly variable in different countries, its within-GAS distribution seems not to be random. emm pattern E, 13 major emm types (emm12, 4, 28, 77, 75, 11, 22, 92, 58, 60, 94, 63, 114) and 4 emm clusters (A-C4, E1, E6, and E2) were significantly associated with macrolide resistance. emm patterns A-C and D, 14 major emm types (emm89, 3, 6, 2, 44, 82, 87, 118, 5, 49, 81, 59, 227, 78) and 3 well-defined emm clusters (A-C5, E3, and D4) were significantly associated with macrolide susceptibility. Scrutinizing the tendency of each MRGAS emm type to be significantly associated with specific macrolide resistance phenotype or genotype, interesting vignettes are also unveiled. The 30-valent vaccine covers ~95% of MRGAS isolates. The presented data urge the importance of comprehensive nationwide sustained surveillance of MRGAS circulating clones particularly in Low and Middle income countries where sampling bias is high and GAS epidemiology is obfuscated and needs to be demystified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rayane Rafei
- Laboratoire Microbiologie Santé et Environnement (LMSE), Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Tripoli, Lebanon.
| | - Rayane Al Iaali
- Laboratoire Microbiologie Santé et Environnement (LMSE), Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Tripoli, Lebanon
| | - Marwan Osman
- Laboratoire Microbiologie Santé et Environnement (LMSE), Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Tripoli, Lebanon; Department of Public and Ecosystem Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Fouad Dabboussi
- Laboratoire Microbiologie Santé et Environnement (LMSE), Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Tripoli, Lebanon
| | - Monzer Hamze
- Laboratoire Microbiologie Santé et Environnement (LMSE), Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Tripoli, Lebanon
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Dissecting Streptococcus pyogenes interaction with human. Arch Microbiol 2020; 202:2023-2032. [PMID: 32504132 DOI: 10.1007/s00203-020-01932-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Revised: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Streptococcus pyogenes is a species of Gram-positive bacteria. It is also known as Group A Streptococcus (GAS) that causes pathogenesis to humans only. The GAS infection has several manifestations including invasive illness. Current research has linked the molecular modes of GAS virulence with substantial sequencing determinations for the isolation of genomes. These advances help to comprehend the molecular evolution resulting in the pandemic strains. Thus, it is indispensable to reconsider the philosophy that involves GAS pathogenesis. The recent investigations involve studying GAS in the nasopharynx and its capability to cause infection or asymptomatically reside in the host. These advances have been discussed in this article with an emphasis on the natural history of GAS and the evolutionary change in the pandemic strains. In addition, this review describes the unique functions for major pathogenicity determinants to comprehend their physiological effects.
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Changes in emm types and superantigen gene content of Streptococcus pyogenes causing invasive infections in Portugal. Sci Rep 2019; 9:18051. [PMID: 31792274 PMCID: PMC6888849 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54409-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Fluctuations in the clonal composition of Group A Streptococcus (GAS) have been associated with the emergence of successful lineages and with upsurges of invasive infections (iGAS). This study aimed at identifying changes in the clones causing iGAS in Portugal. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing, emm typing and superantigen (SAg) gene profiling were performed for 381 iGAS isolates from 2010-2015. Macrolide resistance decreased to 4%, accompanied by the disappearance of the M phenotype and an increase of the iMLSB phenotype. The dominant emm types were: emm1 (28%), emm89 (11%), emm3 (9%), emm12 (8%), and emm6 (7%). There were no significant changes in the prevalence of individual emm types, emm clusters, or SAg profiles when comparing to 2006-2009, although an overall increasing trend was recorded during 2000-2015 for emm1, emm75, and emm87. Short-term increases in the prevalence of emm3, emm6, and emm75 may have been driven by concomitant SAg profile changes observed within these emm types, or reflect the emergence of novel genomic variants of the same emm types carrying different SAgs.
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Konrad P, Hufnagel M, Berner R, Toepfner N. Long-term, single-center surveillance of non-invasive group A streptococcal (GAS) infections, emm types and emm clusters. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2019; 39:273-280. [PMID: 31758439 DOI: 10.1007/s10096-019-03719-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Accepted: 09/20/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Group A streptococci (GAS) are among the most frequent pathogens in children. Many epidemiological studies focus on specific GAS infections (such as tonsillopharyngitis or invasive disease), on GAS carriers or on post-streptococcal sequelae. By comparison, reports on regional GAS characteristics, particularly circulating non-invasive GAS in Europe, are rare. In a monocentric study, all GAS isolated from pediatric patients at a tertiary care hospital over a 6-year period (2006-2012) were characterized. GAS emm types and clusters were determined. Associated patient data were analyzed. Five hundred sixty-six GAS strains were collected. GAS tonsillopharyngitis was most common (71.6%), followed by pyoderma (6.0%), otitis media (3.7%), perineal dermatitis (3.4%), and invasive infections (1.4%). Colonizing strains represented 13.6% of GAS. GAS emm12 was most prevalent among invasive and non-invasive isolates. Emm1, emm4, emm28, and emm89 were the most frequent non-invasive GAS strains. The emm E4 cluster was most common, followed by the A-C4, A-C3, and E1. Among the GAS infections, different emm types and clusters were identified, e.g., emm4 was more common among patients with scarlet fever. Three new emm subtypes were characterized: emm29.13, emm36.7, and emm75.5. This comprehensive review of a large, local GAS cohort points to the differences between and similarities among GAS genotypes and disease manifestations, while minimizing regional variations. Considerable deviation from previous epidemiological findings is described, especially regarding the frequent detection of emm1 and emm89 in non-invasive GAS infections. Periodic updates on molecular and epidemiological GAS characteristics are needed to track the multifaceted pathogenic potential of GAS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Konrad
- Department of Pediatrics, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital, Technical University Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Markus Hufnagel
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University Medical Center, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Reinhard Berner
- Department of Pediatrics, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital, Technical University Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Nicole Toepfner
- Department of Pediatrics, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital, Technical University Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
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